George Clooney and Matt Damon Rescue Art from Hitler in "The Monuments Men"

In a new film opening this December, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray and others devise a plan to save artworks from the Nazis during World War II. The drama entitled The Monuments Men is based on actual events as retold in the book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel. The real Monuments Men were a group of around 345 museum directors, teachers, historians, curators, and others who worked to uncover caches of stolen works, and by the end of the war had recovered over 5 million pieces. Of course, because this is Hollywood, George Clooney does it with a cast of eight men (and an army of nameless extras to do the heavy lifting).

The Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art has been working for the past five years, researching those men and women so that their history can live on. We don't want to judge the film too harshly after only seeing the trailer, so you decide for yourself. If nothing else, it will bring much needed attention to the lives and efforts of the MMF, but we hope it's actually a good flick.

Check out the first trailer for the film below, in theaters December 15: